Giovanni Trapattoni would prefer to face England over Italy in the Euro 2012 finals draw tomorrow and avoid Spain altogether.

The 72-year-old Coach was speaking ahead of Friday’s draw for the group stage of the European Championships. His Republic of Ireland side find themselves in Pot 4 and facing the very real prospect of being handed a difficult group.

Trapattoni, who will be the oldest Coach at the tournament next summer, revealed he has already planned out a few ideas to counter a certain fellow Italian Coach.

“Psychologically, I would like to avoid Italy. Also then from a technical standpoint, the Azzurri should always be avoided.

“I’d rather be challenging [Fabio] Capello’s England. I have already prepared some countermoves. However, the opponent of all that must be avoided is Spain.”

Trapattoni and his backroom staff that includes Marco Tardelli and Fausto Rossi signed new contracts this week to lead the Irish team to the 2014 World Cup.